Sylvester: Bill not high on the agenda

President of the SVG Human Rights Association Nicole Sylvester is calling on the Attorney General to pass the OECS Bar Draft Legal Profession Bill.{{more}}

The Bill, which has already been passed in several OECS territories, has been with the Attorney General for almost five years. This is according to a press release issued by the Human Rights Association.

Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT, Sylvester stressed the importance of the bill. She stated that the bill will ensure proper mechanisms are in place so that members of the public can address their grievances if any arise against a legal practitioner.

The bill will also set out the way in which clients’ accounts must be kept and the need for them to be audited as well as ensure that there no difficulty in the containment of clients’ money.

Sylvester added that there seems to be an inertia where the passing of the bill is concerned.

“There seems to be a general inertia in that. Since 2006, the bill has been lodged with the attorney general. We are now in 2010 and nothing has happened…it’s clearly not high on the agenda.”

The bill has been passed in St. Christopher and Nevis, Dominica and St. Lucia, with other OECS countries in the process of passing the bill.(OS)